Huh? The Tyrant Cries After My Inner Thoughts Were Exposed!-Chapter 40 - 39: Isn’t Miss Su Supposed to Know Nothing of Poetry or Song?
Looking at Su Juan, Song Qianhang’s mind went blank.
Elder brother... poisoned him?
How is that possible!
[Song Qianhang, this silly lad, probably wouldn’t believe it even if he died, still thinking that he has a good brotherly relationship...]
Song Qianhang thought that even though his relationship with Song Qianfan wasn’t great, it was still harmonious. Even if it wasn’t harmonious... after all, they are blood brothers.
[Little did he know that Song Qianfan abandoned even his parents, what does poisoning a younger brother matter?]
Song Qianhang was completely bewildered. What did Su Juan mean by her words?
He pressed his thin lips together, unwilling to believe what Su Juan said, but so far her words were never wrong, even the Imperial Uncle believed her deeply.
Elder brother clearly did not participate in any factional disputes, nor had he ever expressed an interest in vying for the throne.
But... elder brother has always been inscrutable, even father and mother couldn’t see through him... Recently he even took out his anger on Su Juan because of Vice Minister Du’s affair.
They had never noticed since when elder brother began to frequently interact with the ministers in court.
The more Song Qianhang thought about it, the more uneasy he became. Could it be that elder brother only appeared uninterested on the surface, but was actually deeply involved?!
"Qianhang?"
"Ah?"
Su Juan had called Song Qianhang several times, her gaze falling on the scattered cards in front of him, "What’s wrong? You seem quite distracted."
Song Qianhang hurriedly gathered the cards and put them aside, "Sister-in-law, I just remembered something I need to do, so I won’t play cards with you."
Song Qianhang left in a hurry, afraid to hear more from Su Juan.
He wanted to confront Song Qianfan in the Buddhist hall, but after calming down, he never went.
Apart from the fact that no one could enter the Buddhist hall now, even if he could, how would he bring this up, after all, it’s all yet to happen.
Song Qianhang, oh, Song Qianhang, that’s your own brother, who saved you many times when you were young, how could you doubt him based solely on Su Juan’s words!
Song Qianhang felt guilty, wanting to slap himself.
But he thought of the sadness it would cause the ladies and didn’t slap himself.
...
The next day was a rest day, a rare occasion for the family to have breakfast together.
Perhaps after a night of punishment kneeling in the Buddhist hall, Song Qianfan restrained his temper, even took the initiative to serve porridge for the whole family, not leaving out Su Juan.
Su Juan raised an eyebrow as she glanced at Song Qianfan, [Serving porridge personally?]
[Is he really that kind-hearted?]
[Could it be poisoned?]
Upon hearing this, the Prince Jing couple had no significant reaction, only taking Su Juan’s words as a joke, since their son hadn’t had a decent day since marrying, and it was normal for the daughter-in-law to vent a bit.
Song Qianfan glanced at Su Juan, uncharacteristically unemotional.
At the table, only Song Qianhang didn’t touch his bowl of porridge.
Wherever Song Qianfan moved his chopsticks to pick a dish, Song Qianhang picked the same, one dish after another, his actions were quite overt.
Princess Jing frowned a little, what’s gotten into her younger son today?
Su Juan, sitting opposite the two brothers, witnessed it all clearly, [What is it with Song Qianfan eating this, and Song Qianhang eating the same thing?]
[Only eating dishes and not the porridge, how salty...]
[Could Song Qianhang think that Song Qianfan poisoned the food?]
"Cough! Cough—" Song Qianhang choked on the food, not daring to glance at Song Qianfan beside him, feeling guilty.
He quickly took two gulps of porridge, then another two bites of dishes, hoping to prove that Su Juan’s words were groundless.
Su Juan was laughing wildly inside.
[So hilarious, how does Song Qianfan manage to be so disliked?]
[Even his own younger brother dislikes him, ew.]
Su Juan’s words scared Song Qianhang into quickly raising his head from the bowl, afraid that Song Qianfan would misunderstand him due to Su Juan’s words, and immediately turned attentive.
"Elder brother, let me serve you a bowl of porridge!"
"Here, have some dishes, this one is tasty."
"Here, try this one too."
As if not hearing Su Juan’s words, Song Qianfan just quietly ate his porridge.
Prince Jing finally felt a little satisfied, finally seeing some demeanor of the Princely Heir of the Prince Mansion.
Song Qianhang wiped his cold sweat mentally, he couldn’t really be blamed, after all, who wants to die?
He just wanted to be a bit careful.
He kept praying: Auntie! Please don’t think anymore, give your younger brother a break!
...
Jing Garden
Su Juan held the invitation sent by Liu Miaoying and went to the garden party as promised.
By the time she arrived, many people were already there, mostly young ladies and gentlemen from noble families, who habitually composed poems, brewed tea, and passed time in the garden.
Seeing Su Juan arrive without even a maid, Liu Miaoying waved with a smile, "Ah Juan, over here."
Su Juan followed the voice and saw several ladies with Liu Miaoying, admiring paintings with the faint scent of wine in the air.
Winter had begun, the days turned cold, both young gentlemen and ladies liked to have a warm cup of wine, Su Juan was no exception, though she didn’t find the taste of the wine appealing.
Liu Miaoying, holding onto Su Juan’s arm, took her to a table, "Look, this is what I just painted."
Su Juan squinted her eyes slightly: "Pretty."
[Too bad I am not cultured, or else I’d praise you to the clouds.]
Liu Miaoying’s face lit up with a smile, "This garden is quite beautiful, there are many places to see, could I accompany you to look around?"
Su Juan declined, "No need, you can stay with them, I want to look around by myself."
Liu Miaoying nodded without insisting.
The garden was large, and away from the bustling crowd, Su Juan headed towards the less crowded pavilion. She didn’t have much interest in appreciating any masterpieces, she believed Liu Miaoying attended these gatherings not purely for composing poetry and essays.
She was here to fulfill her promise; having agreed earlier, it wouldn’t be right to break that promise.
Many people attended the gathering, with no shortage of high-ranking officials’ offspring, and some young men who had already entered officialdom, forming complex social networks closely linked with the court.
Every step Liu Miaoying took was, upon reflection, paving her path toward her ultimate objective, with none of them being in vain.
Su Juan couldn’t help but marvel, if it wasn’t Song Qianfan, Liu Miaoying might have achieved her wish.
"Miss Su?"
Turning at the sound, Su Juan saw several people approaching, some familiar faces, others not, including the granddaughter of the Minister of Rites, Wu Ziyu, who historically didn’t get along well with Lin Xizhi.
Previously, Wu Ziyu never even spared her a glance.
Bringing a few friends, Wu Ziyu pretended to be surprised, "Oh, Miss Su, aren’t you illiterate in poetry and painting? How did you end up in such a cultivated place as ours? Did you perhaps wander into the wrong place?"
"Miss Su, you better leave quickly, after all, not just anyone can enter Jing Garden!"
Su Juan laughed, "Miss Wu is right, I was also worried about being kicked out, but now seeing you here, I’m put at ease."
Wu Ziyu didn’t process that: "?"
[I thought I was already exaggerating, but seeing Wu Ziyu here, it turns out Jing Garden does let any Tom, Dick, and Harry in.]
[Sigh, Wu Ziyu really is something, managing single-handedly to lower the standards of Jing Garden.]
Face flushed with anger, Wu Ziyu exclaimed, "What nonsense are you spouting! Jing Garden is a refined place for composing poetry, even Mr. Liu praised my poems, how could someone who can’t write or paint like you compare to me?!"
